Navjot Singh Sidhu to work as clerk at jail for `90 daily wage

Chandigarh: Convicted in a 1988 road rage case, former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu will work as a clerk at the Patiala Central Jail. Sidhu will be trained for three months and will be taught how to brief lengthy court judgments and compile jail records.

Sidhu, as per the jail manual, will not be paid for the first 90 days. After the completion of his training, he will be entitled to get wages between Rs 40 and Rs 90 per day. His wage will be decided on the basis of his skills and the earnings will be credited to his bank account.

He will get a doctor-recommended daily diet that includes coconut water, lactose-free milk, a glass of juice and a few almonds, an official said. A board of doctors has recommended a special diet for Sidhu after he had sought the same in the jail. His medical examination was conducted on May 23 at Rajindra hospital in Patiala, Punjab

Navjot Sidhu, according to a jail official, will work from the barracks itself as he is a high-profile prisoner.

The jail files will be sent to him in the barracks as he will not be allowed to move out of his cell. According to the jail authorities, Sidhu started working as a clerk on Tuesday. He will be working in two shifts — 9 am-noon and 3 pm-5 pm. Meanwhile, security has been tightened inside the barracks where Sidhu has been lodged. Five wardens and four jail inmates have also been asked to keep an eye on Sidhu.

The cricketer-turned-politician was sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court on May 19 in a 1988 road rage case.

He surrendered on May 20 before the trial court in Patiala.